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“What do you mean she’s gone”! Shouted Alasdair. He had only just returned from the Grand Temple to find out that Pearl Mazeltof had somehow escaped from the keep’s Dungeon. He has currently standing in the council chamber glaring at a sheepish Alenius who was averting her gaze. While it was not even vaguely her fault she still somehow felt responsible. Afterall she had been appointed to oversee the security of the keep and one of the most important prisoners had somehow just walked straight out the gate.

“My deepest apologies my lord but Pearl Mazeltof has somehow escaped from Dungeon”. Alasdair covered his face with his hands, he was in complete disbelief.

“How? How could this even of happened”? As he took his hands away he saw Alenius’s face turn to unease; he wasn’t going to like what she was about to say

“It would appear that enemy agents, likely those of House Mazeltof, entered the Keep during the riot. Probably wearing disguises so as to hide their true identity. Our guards found Pearls cell empty and the prison guards killed. It wasn’t until after the riot that we realised that she had escaped. Now she could be anywhere in the city”. Alasdair’s face lit up at the last bit of information

“In the city? Wouldn’t it be more likely that she is somewhere in the countryside by now”?

“Fortunately your grace the steel fist had all the city gates blocked during the riot. That the number of rioters plaguing the streets at the time would have made it near impossible to escape. I believe they are still hiding somewhere in the city, waiting for their opportunity to strike”. This was excellent news, there was still a chance to recapture his prisoner. He had to; Pearl Mazeltof was a valuable hostage and with her as his prisoner he could manipulate the people of Ralda to be more cooperative with their new king.

“In which case tripple of the guards at each of the exits and have them check everyone who tries to leave. In the meantime have the city watch on the lookout for Pearl Mazeltof or anyone acting suspicious”. With this Alenius bowed

“At once you grace, but would it not be safer to complete lock down the gates until Pearl is found”.

“I cannot suddenly halt the entire movement and trade of a city at such a fragile time” Alasdair said “Besides if I did that I everyone would demand answers and if they discovered that Pearl had escaped from our very own dungeons we would be humiliated. And if Ralda ever found out we no longer have a hostage...lets just say the riot’s that happened here in Nyhem will be tame by comparison”.



Kiseo’s lith figure cautiously strolled through the once proud streets of Nyhem. Her cloak’s hood was snapped up and over her face, hiding it from sight. Her golden eyes continually alert as they scanned the morning crowds as she held a note to the king about Dyril’s situation. Mostly indicating the half-elf was still alive despite the unsavory encounter with a few rioters.

Evidence of the horrid events surrounded her. Many buildings, yesterday’s prosperous businesses or homes, were charred husks of their former selves. The streets were bustling with the working class seeking to salvage what they could from the remains.

*
Aulus was making his way through the streets of Nyhem, pushing through the soot covered scavengers as he drank from a bottle of rum he had looted during the riot. He wasn’t sure what was more surprising; the fact that Alicja Mazeltof had been in front of him for so long or the fact that she actually succeeded in rescuing her sister. Shortly after his first meeting with Ramfrey, Aulus had returned to the Inn to receive his payment. When he arrived it was not Ramfrey, but Alicja he met. They had only met once before, when Daeron invited Henry Mazeltof and his children for a feast in Coruneon. It was clear that Aulus had made something of an impression on her, as despite his new rugged and shambolic appearance she still recognised him. Through a bit of convincing Alicja was able to persuade Aulus to help her rescue Pearl, a futile effort in Aulus’s mind, but he had nothing better to do. When the riot started Aulus was able to steal armour from the city watch’s barracks giving Alicja her way into the castle. Aulus had to confess, when he watched Alicja, Ramfrey and Christain walk into the keep he was certain they were not coming back. Though against all odds they somehow got in, recused Pearl and escaped without being caught. Maybe the guards were simply distracted by the rioters, or maybe the De Reimer’s guards weren’t as competent as they would like everyone to believe.

Aulus had been tasked by Ramfrey to find Dyril and tell her what happened. Though now he had the unfortunate task of informing Ramfrey that it wouldn’t be possible. He had just learnt that Dyril was currently in the middle of the steel fist’s camp and was guarded by hundreds of mercenaries. Even if he was sober the chances of him reaching her were impossible. As Aulus continued to walk through the crowd he drunkenly bumped into a passersby.

“Sorry...sir...mam...person” he said as he drunkenly stumbled to the side, trying to regain his balance. As Aulus looked to see who he had bumped into he seemingly sobered up in shock. Though hooded, the face he was looking at was that of a cat. “How strong is this stuff”? Aulus stammered as he looked down at the bottle in his hand before rather rudely moving his face closer to that of the feline like creature, wondering whether what he was seeing was real.

Kiseo jerked when she was shoved forward. Her fur stood on end and her tail curled about her calf, quickly hidden under the swaying folds of her cloak. In one smooth, graceful moment, she turned on heel to face the culprit responsible. The hood was casted off in her hurry. It revealed the mixture of feline and human features in her face, her ears raised back slight and narrow eyes widened in fear. Her lips had curled into a barely audible warning hiss.

It took a moment before she relaxed. Her hearing caught the slurring lisp in the man’s words, his confusion confirming her overreaction. Already she could feel eyes burning into her back, namely from the guards warily debating to interfere in the abrupt scene.

Not liking the attention, Kiseo’s skin flushed slightly red. She noticed she dropped Dyril’s message to the King causing her to drop down, mumbling an apology, before she turned to take off toward Alasdair’s residence. Her right hand flipped her cloak’s hood back over her head.

Aulus was a bit taken aback when the cat faced woman hissed at him, however his attention soon shifted to the note she dropped. Despite his drunken state Aulus, saw that the letter that the feline woman had picked up was addressed to Dyril. In hindsight it made sense; Maerya had told Aulus how the Imperium kept many strange species as slaves.

“Hey”, he shouted as he staggered after her “wait up, I just want to talk to you, um...meow, purr, hiss?” he jokinging said as he tried to catch up with her.

Kiseo’s tail bristled at the statement. Her head twisted back and briefly glared at the man, finding his behavior grating on her nerves again. While she was feline in nature, her behavior was anything but animalistic and personally found the comparison painful.

“Speaking of common, I can. Not good. What you want of me?” Kiseo shot back as she continued to try to avoid the drunken man. She didn’t want or need additional attention since it wouldn’t help her avoid trouble.

“I have been sent to tell your master that our mutual friend has succeeded in rescuing their sister” Aulus whispered as he tried to guide her towards the nearest alley, making sure they weren’t overheard “However, we are having a bit of trouble getting out the city and need help” after finishing Aulus realised that Dyril might not actually of told her servant anything, for all he knew this message might mean nothing to her.

As they ducked into a nearby alley, Kiseo turned on her heel to face the man. Her eyes narrowed in indecision before she cross her arms over her front. She seemed inwardly debating on to trust the man’s words or not before she inhaled, then shot off her own inquries.

“Help? What way? Aljica send no word the plan happen yesterday.”

Aulus shrugged before responding “I don’t know what to tell you, I only joined up recently. From what I gather, Ramfrey decided the riot would be the best opportunity to break out Pearl from the keep. It appears he was right, but now that the De Reimers know about our little break out, they have increased security at the entrances, making it impossible to escape. We were hoping that maybe Dyril could use her contentions to organise some kind of distraction”.

“I do not understand how. We need a meeting to fix it, but Inn burned down.” Kiseo groan at the impatience her master’s sister allies had shown and the mess it had created. “I must talk with Dyril and think of a place to meet, sort this out… This is risky.”

“No doubts to that” Aulus said with a smile “Tell your master to meet down ‘weaver’ lane’ in the Slums, it will be safe to met there; the guards don’t even bother patrolling it given how dangerous it is” Aulus paused, realising the irony in what he just said “so… don’t bring anything valuable, and keep yourself hidden, and don’t make eye contact with anyone. I’m sure you’ll be fine...probably”.

Kiseo’s lips pressed together. Annoyance slipped over her expression as she narrowed her eyes, inwardly debated on his intentions for Dyril. The bad part, she wasn’t yet familiar enough with the city to know exactly where ‘weaver lane’ was or even the slums. She doubted it was difficult to find through. The higher class residents often kept their section of the town cleaner and less infested by homeless, filth in their eyes. With the recent fires might’ve altered that situation through, the Mao thought.

“Will try to find it. Not familiar with city enough. Time?” Kiseo asked to ensure they wouldn’t be waiting for hours on end.

“Let’s say early evening, when the sun is about to set over the city walls, less chance of being seen yet easy to blend in with the city folk going home. See you there kitty kat” Aulus finished with a smirk and a casual wave before quickly making his way out of the alley and back to Alicja.

If it wasn’t for the fact Kiseo feared retribution, she might’ve actually considered scratching out Aulus’ eyes and knocking him on his ass. Her eyes narrowed at his retreating back before she decided to wrap up her morning tasks.



Weaver’s lane was filled with the slum folk of Nyhem returning back to their shacks with whatever merger sum of money they had been able to scrounge that day. While most were just heading home to rest, a large number of people were going to the slum’s tavern, ‘The blue soup’, to drink away their days earnings. It was the only place in the slum that had any form of life. Just as Aulus had promised them, no guards were present in the lane. In fact it almost seemed that the entire slums had been abandoned by the Law. Alicja was wearing a hooded cloak to cover herself, as was Ramfrey. Alicja had spent the day tending to the wounds Pearl had endured while in prison. The fact that Pearl’s cell was better than most other prisoners spoke volumes for the brutality of Nyhem’s dungeons. She had asked Christain to look after her while she and Ramfrey met with Dyril. Originally Aulus was supposed to have joined them, however he had been so intoxicated when they left both Alicja and Ramfrey agreed it was better than he remained behind. After discovering that the Inn had been burnt down during the riot they had decided to take up refuge in an abandoned slum building that Aulus had found; though the building was run down and decrepit, it provided them with necessary shelter from both the elements, and the city watch. Though they had only been waiting for a short amount of time Alicja was getting restless; she wanted to get back and look after Pearl, Ramfrey took notice.

“Don’t worry my lady” he mumbled to her “I’m sure they will be here soon”

Right on cue, a dark cloaked figure erupted from the shadows nearby. Her feminine shape was hidden underneath the billowing folds and subtle movements, the fabric aged by outside elements. When out of sight of prying eyes, hands casually pulled away the hood to reveal a familiar face: Dyril’s. Her narrow eyes shifted from Alicja to Ramfrey. The later received a suspicious glance before her head turned to glance over her shoulder, spying Kiseo follow closely behind her.

However, the Mao didn’t remove her covering. Her golden eyes merely caught then reflected the light back, giving an eerie, watchful glow within her hood.

“Kiseo, watch for any prying eyes,” Dyril asked.

“Yes Mistress,” the Mao replied.

She bowed before she pulled back, twisting to face the way they came. Her ears, on the other hand, were twitching to catch the whole conversation. It hard to trust anyone with the circumstances.

“Now, Alicja, will you please explain the situation? I don’t understand why you risked yours and our sister’s life with such a foolish act during the riots.”

Dyril’s words held slight accurations, through she tried to temper it.

“I wish there was another way but we didn’t have much choice. The riot provided the best chance to rescue Pearl and there was no way another opportunity would arise anytime soon, if ever. I assure you I wouldn’t have done it if wasn’t absolutely certain there was no other way” Alicja said. Though she sounded regretful the truth was she felt no remorse; after seeing what had been done to Pearl her only regret was that she hadn’t rescued her sooner. “But right now we need to focus on escaping the city, before long the city watch will be searching everywhere for us and not even the slums will be safe”.

That’s the real mess, Dyril thought but held her tongue. She was finding it difficult to see the family resemblance beyond the physical traits. It was difficult to believe, with recent actions, that Alicja wouldn’t just leave Dyril and Kiseo to face the King’s wrath in favor for freedom. Irritation washed over the hybrid at the disturbing similarities between her family and this woman. Even a little pain at the lacking faith in her mingled into the mix.
“Yes, especially a plan that won’t leave us facing the King’s wrath while you escape,” Dyril’s words become an intended bard at her half sister.

Kiseo’s ears flicked at her master’s words causing her golden eyes to shift, her expression drifted between pain and sympathy toward her master. Dyril ignored it.

“Do you have idea for a plan? Route? Guards patrol locations? Where the gate locks are and how they operate?” She asked, trying to see what they had in mind already before adding to it.

Alicja was shocked at Dyril’s attitude. Did Dyril really think so little of her that she thought she would abandon her “I would never demand that you put yourself in harms way. I simply request that you help carry Pearl through the gate, she is still too weak to walk. Aulus informs us that all three of Nyhem’s gates are now heavily guarded, along with the docks. However there is a exit where the eastern wall meets the river, most people don’t even know it exists. There are only a couple of guards ever present and it seems that the city watch have forgotten to enforce it. I plan to act as a diversion so that you may escape the city”. At this Ramfrey suddenly looked around to Alicja with confusion, it was clear Alicja hadn’t told him about this.

“You can’t be serious milady. You are too important to risk yourself like this, allow me this task” Ramfrey protested. Alicja gave him a sad smile; she knew he was going to react like this.

“I cannot, you will be Pearl’s and Christain’s only protection outside Nyhem, you have served as my guardian faithfully and for that I am grateful. Now I must ask that you do the same for my sister” Alicja looked towards Dyril “and I cannot ask you or Christain to risk your lives for me, it was my decision to carry out this plan and I must be responsible for the consequences”.

“I swore to protect you milady, I cannot let you do this. I mean...you could always send Aulus…” Ramfrey mumbled, to which Alicja threw him a disapproving look.

“As Aggravating as he may be without him we would never of gotten this far, as much as I hate to admit it we are in his debt”. With this Alicja looked straight at Dyril.

“I understand the danger I am putting you in and I what I ask of you isn’t fair. So I want you to know you are free to decide not to help us, I will think no less of you if you do”.

Dyril waited until the two bickered their differences out. She was already distrustful of the two after Alicja’s stunt, despite the confusion over the hybrid’s behavior. Personally any trust between had been severely damaged at this stage, but it didn’t mean she wanted to see her half sister dead or worse. Seeming to sense her master’s agitation at the situation, Kiseo stepped in to ease it.

“Help I can. I distract and lead them away, give time to you. I not catch easy,” Kiseo stated in her broken common a bit too quickly.
Dyril looked briefly shocked by the offer, even more so seeing the Mao speak out forwardly and offer herself to the plan without consulting with her master. It caused the hybrid’s lips to subtly tighten in worry. Through the only one to notice it was Kiseo, who fought not to visibly flinch, as she stood to hear other’s comments.

Alicja was taken aback by Kiseo’s comment, she never thought the she would volunteer for such a dangerous task.

“I thank you Kiseo, but like I said I can’t risk your life for this. Besides this is my…”

“With all due respect milady” Ramfrey interrupted, “She is best suited for this task. I doubt the guardsmen would be able to keep up with her. Furthermore there is no moon tonight which means they won’t even be able to see her, given her the perfect opportunity to escape into the city”.

“But if they catch her they’ll know that Dyril…” Alicja started to protest

“If they catch any of us they will find out eventually” The torturers in Nyhem’s dungeons always got a confession out of you, no matter how strong a person you were. Though he wasn’t going to mention this,“If you want to keep Dyril safe, Kiseo is our best chance.”

Alicja paused as she thought over this.“Very well, if both Kiseo and Dyril are willing.”

Then as Ramfrey said, “This is our best chance”.

’Well, of course I’m not willing,’ Dyril spit eternally at the statement. In fact, she was personally enraged by Kiseo’s willingness to toss her life away and not consider the aftermath for her. Still the hybrid managed to keep her tongue from voicing it into the atmosphere already thick in tension and agitation.

Kiseo held back her annoyance with the situation. She already gave her approval and accepted the task, what more did these Formaroth natives need to verify that? The Mao inhaled then looked to Dyril, pleading silently for her to understand.

Feeling Kiseo’s eyes rest onto her, the half elf exhaled subtly through her nostrils. She didn’t have much choice because some bit of her accept Ramfrey’s words to be truth.

“Fine, Kiseo. If you get caught, I will not knowledge your intentions. Do you understand?”

“Mistress, yes,” Kiseo answered, forgetting she was suppose to speak in Formaroth while here. She immediately realized her mistake and quickly corrected, hoping to avoid punishment.

“Mistress, yes.”

“Better. I expect you home before morning to help me get ready,” Dyril’s tone became harsh as she turned to Alicja, her expression indifferent. For her next words, it was a challenge to hold back the strain in her voice caused by the anger she was feeling building in her,“Is there anything else I need to be aware of?”

“Nothing that I can think of” Alicja replied “I will meet you here at midnight and Aulus will guide us to the entrance” Just before Alicja turning away she glanced back before adding “Thank you again for this...sister” Alicja hesitated at the end, unsure if Dyril would appreciate her calling her as such, given her current temperament.

“You won’t be meeting me here, Kiseo will. The less I know about it, the easier it would be to simply pretend I know nothing and safer for all of us,” Dyril stated then added in a slightly softer tone. There was still traces of pain associated with it through she tried to hide them.

“Just don’t get caught and take care of yourself. I don’t want news that the King wiped out the last of our family…” With that said, Dryil signaled for Kiseo to follow her as they headed back to camp.

*

Once again Alicja had returned to weaver’s lane. This time however she had more than just Ramfrey accompanying her. Aulus had finally sobered up and was helping Christain support Pearl; while she had been slowly recovering, she still wasn’t strong enough to move on her own. Fortunately most of the people roaming the streets at this time were drunks stumbling home after a night of drinking and would mistake Pearl simply as another drunkard whose friends were helping home. They had been waiting for a little while yet there was still no sign of Kiseo.

Kiseo continually navigated through the city. Her eyes reflected the dim light giving them an eerie glow in the shadows, betraying her steady approach. Cautiously she tiptoed into weaver’s lane being obviously late. She found the alleys, streets and small paths still confusing until she finally found the right landmarks. The mao caught dark, shadows stood

Carefully, Kiseo navigated streets and once more found her way into weaver’s lane. She swore she made several wrong turns before she finally found the right landmarks. After a while, her eyes caught the grey shades of two individuals standing in the darkness as they anxiously waited.

“Sorry, late I am. Lost around streets.” Kiseo rapidly explained in common.

“No worries Kiseo, I’m just glad you're here” Alicja said as she signaled to the others, who slowly made their way towards them, making sure they didn’t walk too fast for Pearl.

“Didn’t know if you would actually come,” Aulus said as nodded to Ramfrey, gesturing to him to take over supporting Pearl for him. Once he had Aulus walked to the front of the group

“Right we need to hurry, more time we wait the higher the chance we will be caught. Follow me”

*

As they approached the edge of the city it was clear why most people didn’t know about this supposed secret entrance; the exit was little more than a small wooden door in the side of the cities walls. Two guards were on watch as Aulus predicted, though neither of them seemed a particular threat; both only armed with leather armour and basic spears. One of them was flipping a coin in the air and catching it in his hand, while the other was picking up pebbles from the pavement and throwing them into the river. It was clear it wasn’t a very exciting posting.

“You’re up kitty” Aulus said, although he sounded cheerful as he usually did, a hint of nervousness could be heard in his voice.

“Thank you for this Kiseo” Alicja said “When you return to Dyril, tell her I hope we meet again, hopefully under better circumstances” Alicja paused for a moment before adding “and tell her i’m sorry” Alicja knew Dyril had come her seeking her family, and yet all Alicja had done had put her in harm’s way. Now she was leaving her, with no idea whether she would even see her half sister again. “Are you ready”?

Kiseo hissed at Aulus’ nickname for her. Her fur bristled a moment before it settled back down, her attention shifted to Alicja.

“Yes. I forgot. This for you and Pearl. Apply once week,” Kiseo said as she twisted about.

Her claws rummaged through her hip pouch then pulled free a small salve tin, showing it to Alicja. It was infused with mandrake and restoration magic within the tallow substance. Applied weekly, it would heal nearly any scar or serious damage to wounds. Through Dyril still felt hurt, Kiseo knew her mistress would hate to see her half-sisters killed in their journey.

After Alicja took the gift, the feline humanoid bent down and snatched up a few discarded stones. A hand reached up to ensure her cloak hood would stay as she looked to the others. Already they had found their own crevices to hid in, their figures gone from sight like determined in the plan. She wound her arm back then chucked the first stone at the guard flipping the coin.

It smacked off the side of the door supporting him causing the man to jerk. His eyes turned to her figure in the dim firelight and his lips frowned. Kiseo didn’t wait very long. The next stone hit on his torso causing him to clutch his arm, anger twisted upon his expression and teeth gritted in a decision. He sntached the torch off the wall. Then his foot took a threatening step toward her.

Another rock was whipped out, this time catching him on the head causing him to step back. It seemed she pissed him off enough to decide he was going to arrest her now as he growled in frustration. Taking the hint, Kiseo bolted into the alleyway. The guard gave chase with his companion closely behind.

Her eyes lite her way through the darkness. She darted over the hidden crates, pull into hidden turns and ensured they weren’t too far behind her at all times.

After about three turns, she found herself facing a dead end. Her eyes widened in panic at her mistake. Quickly the Mao turned about to escape, but already her pursuers were closing in. They would be here in moments. Mumbling a curse under her breath, Kiseo turned to her only escape route: up.

She stepped to one end of the alleyway walls and inhaled. Bracing herself, she kicked off toward the opposite one. Her right foot found purchase as she tilted her body forward and began to run upwards. Each step of the way, her claws found niches to propel her higher. Her hand snapped onto the edge of the wall just when torch light appeared underneath her. Kiseo paused long enough to watch them scan the area, unable to find a trace of her, before giving up. They headed slowly back to their posts.

Breathing hard, Kiseo quickly vanished over the other side. When she hit the ground, she made her way back to Dyril. With her little distraction aid, the others should’ve managed to enter the door and escaped outside the walls. At least she hoped they did.

Only time would tell if they ever meet again.